culture in 10 square feet what once 

 required 5 acres. Micropropagators 

 also produce landscaping plants, fruit 

 and ornamental trees and even 

 agricultural crops. But this technology 

 is relatively new in its application to 

 repairing Mother Nature. Only three 

 commercial laboratories in the United 

 States are producing wetland plants 

 for habitat restoration. 



"There really is very 

 little information on 

 horticultural techniques 

 for different kinds of 

 marsh plants and 

 seagrasses ... and this is 

 what we're all about," 

 says Bird, who has also 

 helped develop a 

 micropropagation 

 procedure for several 

 important dune species, 

 including sea oats, 

 firewheel and railroad 

 vine. 



"Seagrasses are 

 particularly unique," he 

 says. "They're really 

 more closely related to 

 lilies and some of the 

 other water-type plants 

 as opposed to being 

 anywhere close to true 

 grasses. Because they're 

 so different ... we're 

 finding that we may not 

 always be able to take 

 the conventional tissue- 

 culture approaches that a 

 lot of plant propagators 

 use." 



So Bird and a 

 community of close-knit 

 researchers on the East 

 Coast are developing their own 

 formulas to suit the particular needs of 

 these marine plants. Much of this 

 work has been supported by the 

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration through Sea Grant and 

 the Coastal Ocean Program's Estua- 

 rine Habitat Program. These agencies 

 are investing in this research to fulfill 

 their responsibilities to protect living 

 marine resources. 



One regional seagrass success 

 story is Ruppia, or wigeongrass, 

 which has already made the transition 



from test tube to turf. Tissue-cultured 

 wigeongrass has flourished in 

 Florida's Tampa and Sarasota bays 

 and at sites near Beaufort, N.C. This 

 real-world survival of tissue-cultured 

 plants is a critical goal of microprop- 

 agators. 



"They've been growing in this 

 perfect environment, so to speak, 

 where we provide them with exactly 



Sea Grant researcher Kimon Bird examines seagrasses 

 with gradual^ student Jennifer Woodhead. 



the kind of light they want, all the 

 energy they need and all the chemicals 

 they need," says Bird. "And now 

 we're asking this prima donna, if you 

 will, in a test tube to go out and cope 

 with all these hardy plants that have 

 been battling it out there in the 

 sediments and the tides for a long 

 time." 



So micropropagators add an 

 acclimation step, during which plants 

 are gradually weaned off their pablum, 

 nudged into natural light and forced to 

 photosynthesize or manufacture their 



own food. Depending on the species, 

 scientists also change the culture 

 environment to encourage root 

 production. 



With a complete plant in hand, 

 researchers must then decide how to 

 best get it securely in the ground. 

 Bird and his colleagues have explored 

 multiple methods for seagrasses — 

 from metal staples that steady plants 

 in the mud to 

 w eighted, biodegrad- 

 able mesh bags and 

 standard horticultural 

 media such as peat 

 pots. Lately, research- 

 ers are finding success 

 with coconut-fiber 

 mats to which young 

 plants are attached by 

 hairpins. 



"When you really 

 get down to it, so far 

 restoration has been 

 kind of trial and error," 

 says Bird. 



But the strides 

 made up to now are 

 promising. Ultimately, 

 micropropagation 

 technology will reduce 

 the number of plants 

 harvested from the 

 wild and may provide 

 an abundant, healthy 

 and low-cost source of 

 vegetation for restor- 

 ing marine and 

 freshwater habitats. 



Scientists in 

 Delaware are even 

 developing strains of 

 marsh plants with 

 specific traits for 

 restoration. For instance, some of 

 these plants could help detoxify 

 contaminated sediments and polluted 

 water. 



With dune species, researchers 

 are exploring intriguing agricultural 

 applications. Dune plants thrive in a 

 harsh marine environment, not so 

 different in character from some farm 

 fields. Using tissue culture, research- 

 ers may be able to engineer more 

 forgiving varieties of crops. 



"Dune plants have genes that are 

 really good for tolerating salt spray," 



20 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1995 



